EPL wrap: City on winning streak, Leeds lose to Aston Villa and West Brom near relegation

West Brom v Brighton (1-0 to West Brom):

‘Free-kick frenzy’ can sum up the final result from West Brom’s battle against Brighton. The first half had been looking momentarily bright for Brighton, with Lewis Dunk’s free-kick goal.

But celebrations were cut short as the goal was disallowed. Then it was allowed again. Then, after a VAR review, it was back to being disallowed, causing a huge commotion on the pitch as Brighton players appealed to referee Lee Mason to no avail.

West Brom managed to secure three vital points from this game, which could help rescue their fate this season. The team is second-to-last on the standings right now, and are at massive risk of relegation with only 11 points.

By comparison, Brighton are five from the bottom with 26 points.

Leeds v Aston Villa (1-0 to Villa):

Aston Villa did just fine without captain Jack Grealish, proving their doubters wrong. Amidst claims that the team is a one-man-show and can’t survive without Grealish, a singular goal from Dutch player Anwar El Ghazi secured Villa an important away win against a faltering Leeds United.

“Listen, it’s nice to win a game without Jack in the team because, as I said, there was a lot made out of us not winning a Premier League game without Jack,” said head coach Dean Smith after the final whistle.

However, despite Grealish sitting this one out due to injury, he couldn’t help but get involved in the action from a distance — through social media.

“Ahh what a time to be alive,” tweeted Grealish, with several laughing emojis. He also retweeted his teammate Tyrone Mings, who described Villa’s performance as a “monstrous effort.”

“My team,” commented Grealish, along with a heart and a football emoji.

Newcastle v Wolves (1-1):

Newcastle United are sinking towards the bottom of the Premier League table with only 26 points, and the team would have surely felt far more secure had they walked away with a win against the Wolves.

Jamaal Lascelles headed in the first goal of the evening at 52 minutes, but the Wolves dashed Newcastles’ hopes at the 73rd minute, when Ruben Neuves scored an equaliser.

As such, the teams each left the pitch with only one point each.

The Wolves, who are nearer to the middle of the table, have now equalled Arsenal’s 34 points, though the Gunners have a game in hand.

Man City v West Ham (2-1 to City):

It was a tight game for Man City and West Ham, currently No 1 and No 4 on the EPL table respectively.

Ruben Dias’ goal at the 30th minute was set up nicely by Kevin De Bruyne, who had just returned following a hamstring injury. But once the Hammers’ Mitchail Antonio equalised 13 minutes later, it was a race from both sides for a game-winning tie-breaker.

City managed to come back in the second half, as defender John Stones aced a right-footed shot down the centre of the goal at the 68th minute, with a little help from Riyad Mahrez.

This marks City’s 20th consecutive win across all competitions.